World No.10 Alex de Minaur will bid to reach his first-ever Grand Slam semi-final, but an Australian-British rivalry will determine if that dream becomes reality.
A hard-fought four-set victory over fellow Sydneysider Jordan Thompson in the previous round has set up an enticing clash against Jack Draper for the opportunity to reach the last four at Flushing Meadows.
British player Katie Boulter, ranked No.35, is currently dating de Minaur to add another layer to the narrative.
"Look, I've played plenty of Brits. It's never easy. I feel a little bit of hostility in their country at the moment," de Minaur admitted.
"But these are the types of matches I want to be playing. I worked so hard to put myself in this position throughout the years. So many hours off the court, on the court, working on little things, because these are the matches I want to be playing — tail end of slams, opportunities, quarterfinals.
"I'm excited for the battle. [I want to do] one for Australia, do one for myself as well."
The Aussie will enter the battle full of belief having won all three previous meetings against Draper, including the second round at Wimbledon in 2022.
Despite history favouring de Minaur, that will not be enough to fool him.
"The biggest thing that we need to understand is that there is nothing sure in tennis," de Minaur said.
"[It] doesn't matter how many times you've played someone. It doesn't mean much. So playing Jack, he's coming off his best year by far. He's playing with a lot of confidence. He's got some very big weapons [including] his serve, backhand, and forehand at times.
"It's always tough facing someone like him, especially a leftie. I have had some success in the past. I'm going to try and draw on that, on what I was able to do in those types of matches.
"And it's the quarterfinals of a Slam. I'm going to go out there and give it my all and compete, and these matches are there to be won. Being passive is not going to get the job done."
Two weeks ago, de Minaur was unsure whether his body was in a position to fully compete in New York after still recovering from a cartilage tear in his hip at the All England Club, forcing the 25-year-old to prematurely withdraw from his quarter-final against Novak Djokovic.
"It's been a whirlwind," he said.
"The last seven, eight weeks I've dealt with a lot of emotions [and] a lot of experiences that have taken a big chunk of my energy and resources.
"Coming in, I didn't have too many expectations. The hip wasn't close to 100 per cent. It wasn't feeling amazing. I was going to go out there and see what I was able to do.
"Slowly it's been feeling better and better each day. All of a sudden, everything has happened with the draws, a lot of upsets, and you're staring at this opportunity.
"In a way, it's been a blessing in disguise because I haven't put too much pressure on myself because I know how I felt with my hip.
"But at the same time, every day I felt better and better. Hopefully I'm peaking for the right moment".
De Minaur and Draper will meet tomorrow at 3:15am AEST on Arthur Stadium, as the winner will meet either Jannik Sinner or Daniil Medvedev.
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